Jewish Women as Kohenet

Many Jewish women don’t see themselves as priestesses, or kohanot, because historically Judaism has had no formal priestess tradition. That said, if you know where and how to look, you can find evidence of kohanot in many Torah portions and midrashim (stories that fill in the gaps of the Torah).  For example, Sarah has been called a priestess by some, and she and the other matriarchs, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, were all daughters of priests from other religious (pagan) traditions. In addition, many women during the Biblical era held positions of authority and respect.  Deborah served as a judge, and seven of the 55 prophets were women.

To begin to recognize the auspicious role women hold within Judaism and to begin seeing themselves as a kohenet (priestess), Jewish women need to remember the following:

Jewish women have been exempted from observing positive and time-bound commandments not because they aren’t “good enough” or “worthy enough” to do so, but because they are seen as spiritual by nature – more spiritual than men – and less in need of commandments that force them to connect with God.  Jewish men feared that if women observed all of the  mitzvot (commandments) they would become so spiritual they would forget about their other duties.

In the Jewish tradition, the role of homemaker and mother is seen as the most important job of all, especially since Jewish life revolves not around the synagogue but around the home.  It remains true that traditionally women had no role in the Temple and they have had to fight for their roles in the synagogue, but they have always presided over the sanctuary of their homes. 

Jewish women have always served as priestesses in the home by creating sacred space on holidays, as well as every day, and invoking the Divine Feminine into that sanctuary. Orthodox women provide a wonderful example of this.  Plus, women have been the initial religious educators of their children, have ensured that dietary restrictions (kashrut) are observed in the home and have conducted rituals concerning birth, death, illness, rites of passage, and cooking.

All Jewish women can become kohanot by seeing their homes as sanctuaries and creating sacred space within them on a weekly basis. Every Friday they can prepare their dinner tables for Shabbat with a white table cloths, the best silver and china, beautiful candles and flowers so they become mishbachots (altar). They can preside over the candle lighting and use this ritual as a spiritual practice so they, too, can learn to live constantly with God in their own mikdash.

In fact, the traditional home-based Shabbat preparations and the candle-lighting ceremony itself mimic the duties and actions of the priests in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.  When a Jewish woman fulfills the commandment to light the Shabbat candles, the ritual she performs symbolically mimics the duties of the kohenim (priests) in the ancient Temple. By cleaning and cooking for Shabbat, she prepares the Temple – her home.  By setting a beautiful table for dinner, she creates a misbeach (altar).  By lighting the Shabbat candles, she lights the Temple lights, and by saying the blessing over the candles, she invokes God’s presence and ushers in the Shechinah (Divine Feminine). She even symbolically performs a sacrifice when baking the challah.  The loaves are reminiscent of the showbreads displayed in the Temple as well.

By regularly lighting Shabbat candles in this manner, each week it becomes easier for Jewish women to become kohanot.  Each week we become more comfortable with and adept at the role of priestess.  It also becomes easier for us to build a mishkan, to invite the Shechinah into that sacred space and to feel God’s presence joining us there.

<-Back to Resoures

Top ^